GIVE THEM WINGS screens as part of the online London Independent Film Festival 2021.
Tickets available at:
Amidst the challenges of the recent pandemic, a shining light emerged in the form of centennial hero (and sadly recently departed) Captain Sir Tom Moore, whose mega-effort to raise millions through his walking laps around his garden made him the hero of the status quo and a legend of 2020.
Now, a new film from multi-hyphenate talent Sean Cronin celebrates the life of a disabled football fan called Paul Hodgson – and is pretty incredible on its’ own terms.
Adapted by Hodgson from his 2000 novel FLIPPER’S SIDE (with additional writing from Cronin, Ian Carter and Tony Waddington) GIVE THEM WINGS chronicles events starting in 1989, when Darlington fan Paul (Daniel Watson) , diagnosed with meningitis from ten months – and given two hopes – is using a wheelchair to move around. His mother, Alice (Toyah Willcox in a career-best appearance), is struggling to cope with struggling husband and Paul’s father, Norman (Bill Fellows) who has signed on again for the umpteenth time and prone to bouts of depressive laziness.
Paul has a circle of friends who try and help him get through what he needs to do. Acceptance to get his own council flat helps things along, but there is still the life-long challenge of his own disability – and a struggle to come to terms with what he wants to be despite his own physical barriers….
Powerful, impactful and touching account of the challenges that families of disabled individuals face in a grounded, refreshing perspective, with much of the tough logistics of dealing with the physical concerns, as well as the misinterpretation and misunderstanding of those more fortunate to possess the natural and normal movements of everyday life for the majority, backed up by a fair injection of uplifting humour.
Watson is brilliant in the lead role, coupled with the above-mentioned Willcox who has come a long way since her supporting role in QUADROPHENIA (1979) and her pop-star heyday in the early 1980s with a performance that will stagger and startle those of us who were a generation of teens remembering her back then, but she is (to quote the objective of one of her hits) truly free in this revelation of a performance.
Cronin proves to be a very coordinated and efficiently economic director and – given his pedigree as both an actor and a cinematographer amongst his numerous talents (he also edits this film) – Cronin will certainly have more than a great chance at future dramatic content as his career progresses thanks to his first-rate work on show here.
GIVE THEM WINGS is about focusing on the deeper feelings and issues of an under-represented demographic and, as a result, reveals a real insight and truth within a film that works well.
